Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church

Transcription

1 Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church 120 Sussex Street, Jersey City, NJ Celebrating Our 100 th Anniversary Our Mission The mission of our Parish is to reach out to all people and encourage them to join us in joyfully giving praise and glory to God; to build a Christian community that, with trust in God, embraces the future, and in doing so, is a beacon of faith, hope and love on the Jersey City waterfront. Our History Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, or OLC, was founded in 1911 to serve Polish immigrants to Jersey City. Today, OLC is growing and changing as it seeks to serve all those who now live in our neighborhood. The Church takes its name from a city in Poland that houses a cherished icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A copy of that icon is centrally located in our historic Church Rev. Thomas J. Ciba Pastor Rev. Stephen Hess Weekend Assistant Mrs. Anna Mae Stefanelli Principal Ms. Kathleen Church, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Parish Office Fax pastor@olcjc.org bulletin@olcjc.org Websites Counseling The OLC School Little Harbor Academy Mass Schedule Monday - Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Note: 12:30 pm (Church open from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm) 5:00 pm, Sunday Vigil Mass 10:00 am, 12:30 pm and 7:00 pm St. Anthony of Padua, 330 Sixth Street, Jersey City, the Center for Polish Ministry in Jersey City, holds a Polish Language Mass at OLC, Sundays at 8 am. Child Care During Mass We provide professionally staffed child care for children 12 months to 4 years of age during the 10:00 am Sunday Mass. Our Child Care Center is located in the Church Hall. Enter through the gate located to the left of the steps leading into the church. Confessions/Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturday 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm in the church & at other times by appointment with the pastor. Weddings Those interested in celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage should contact the parish office one year in advance of their proposed date of marriage. Infant Baptisms Preparation for Baptism should ideally begin before the birth of the child. Expectant parents should visit the parish website for more information. The OLC School Quality Education on the Waterfront 248 Luis Marin Blvd., Jersey City, NJ Grades 1-8 Accredited by The Middle States Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools The Little Harbor Academy The Early Childhood Division of The OLC School 186 Grand Street, Jersey City, NJ Programs: Kindergarten; Pre-Kindergarten Program for 3 & 4 year olds; Montessori Toddler Program for 2 year olds The OLC Counseling Center Well Being on the Waterfront 120 Sussex Street, Jersey City, NJ Individual, Marriage, and Family Counseling To Register and Be Part of OLC We welcome you to register and to be part of our parish family. Please contact the parish office to arrange an informal appointment with the pastor. Saints Peter and Paul Church, Hoboken and OLC Church, Jersey City We work together to proclaim and live the Gospel on the Hudson River Waterfront by sharing our time, energy, and resources and in doing so, we more powerfully witness the presence of Christ. Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 18, 2011

2 A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR Dear Parishioners, Sunday, August 28, hurricane Irene struck. For those who did not evacuate, you may have walked around parts of Downtown Jersey City to see the flooding. At 9:30 am, I had walked down to the river to see the water at the top of the bulkhead. It appeared that the river had actually flowed over the bulkheads at one time during the early morning hours. If you walked around OLC School on Grand Street, Marin Blvd. and York Street, you would have noticed that these streets were flooded. This flooding caused the school cafeteria and Little Harbor basement and boiler room to flood. The water in the school cafeteria and Little Harbor basement was as deep as five feet. We calculated that the school cafeteria alone was filled with more than one quarter million gallons of water. This does not include the water that filled the boiler room and the basement below Little Harbor. It took twenty-four hours for us to pump out all of the water from these two buildings. When the water was finally removed, the resulting damage was devastating. We suffered very expensive damage to the two school boilers. Listed among the losses were snow blowers, buffing machines, commercial vacuum cleaners, food warmers, paper products, tools and janitorial supplies. We lost a power washer, tables, refrigerators, vending machines, rock salt and ice melt. The list goes on. In addition to the losses listed above, there were also the costs of cleaning. The water left dirt deposits and undermined the paint on the floors and walls. The water also caused damage to plaster in some places. Cleaning has taken time and everything will require painting. The losses and remediation can top $80,000. The school has experienced flooding before, but it was never this devastating. The problem is that our school lies in a flood zone. Whenever there are heavy rains coupled with high tides, we get water in the cafeteria. We do have sump pumps; however, they remain largely ineffective against the hydraulic pressure that comes from heavy rains and high tides. Additionally, over the years these pumps have also pumped out sedimentary soil under the concrete floor along with water. The result is that our cafeteria floor has settled about four inches. A few years ago, we conducted an engineering study to resolve this situation. The fix does appear rather simple, but it is rather expensive. We project that we need to raise about $400,000 to $500,000 to complete this project. It will involve removing the entire cafeteria floor and installing a properly installed French Drain system under the floor to direct water to strategically located drywells. In these dry wells, we will install powerful pumps to remove the water as quickly as it peculates under the floor. This is part one of our plan to remedy the water situation in the school cafeteria. Part 2 consists of grading the school playground. We need to install proper drainage to direct water away from the buildings. Additionally, we plan to move the playground gym sets away from the corner of the lot. This should provide protection in the event a car fails to negotiate a turn on the corner. Because there were buildings whose foundations were not properly removed and refilled in parts of the playground, we need to remediate these areas so the playground is level. The OLC School and Little Harbor Academy are extremely important components of the parish. We continue to provide quality education in a Catholic environment. We continue to provide educational programs that rival the best public and Charter schools. Even though the school is removed from the church by two blocks, all of us need to recognize its importance to the parish. We must not simply attend to the needs of our church, while neglecting to recognize the needs of our school on Marin Blvd. We are all one entity. As we address the needs of the school, we all need to come together as a parish to support the work that is necessary in the school. As we go forward on this project, I ask every parishioner to be supportive of the work we have before us. When we have our Christmas Gift Appeal this year, please be overly generous. RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS Our RCIA program (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) will begin Sunday, September 18. We ask our Candidates to come to the 10:00 am Mass. This program is intended for Catholics who wish to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is also intended for those non-catholics who wish to learn more about Catholicism or who may wish to become a Catholic. RCIA LECTURE SERIES What is new about our RCIA program this year is that we are introducing an educational lecture series open to all parishioners and non-parishioners. Our program is intended to be user-friendly. We will be using Catholicism for Dummies, but don t let the title fool you. We will be exploring topics that will be interesting to the inquiring mind. This program is designed for those whose lives are busy and time is precious. Choose the topics of interest and come when you can. We will not require you to make a commitment to come for every session. We will publish the topics in advance and sessions will be every two weeks. Our first session will be Monday, September 26, 7:30 pm in the rectory. The topic of discussion and presentation will be The Early Church.

3 MASS INTENTIONS Mass intentions for both 2011 and 2012 are available. Remember a deceased relative or friend in a very special way by having a Mass offered for them. This is traditionally done on the anniversary of death or on a person s birthday, but may be celebrated at any time. You may also have a Mass celebrated for someone who is ill, in thanksgiving and for special intentions for family and/or friends. If you wish to have a Mass celebrated, simply stop by the rectory, or call us at or send an to: secretary@olcjc.org. We maintain a living bond with our loved ones as we remember them in prayer. BAPTISM AT OLC We are presenting Gathering to Understand, Sunday, October 2, 11:15 am in the Church Hall. This is a necessary session in our Baptism Preparation Program. Please, make every effort to attend if you are planning for the baptism of your child EVENTS AT OLC The Senior Citizens have changed their meetings to Wednesdays beginning in September. The first meeting date is September 21. Lecture Series, Monday, September 26, 7:30 pm in the rectory. Topic: The Early Church Gathering to Understand, October 2, 11:15 am, Church Hall Friday, October 7, First Friday Devotions, 7:00 pm SUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS Reflect on today s readings. Prepare for next Sunday. Sunday, September 18 th, 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is. 55:6-9, Phil. 1:20c-24, 27a, Mt. 20:1-16a Sunday, September 25 th, 26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ez. 18:25-28, Phil. 2:1-11 or 2:1-5, Mt. 21:28-32 OLC SENIORS NEWS The OLC Seniors club is gearing up for another spectacular year of events and activities. Listed below are some of their upcoming events. The Hudson County Office on Aging is hosting a conversation about the needs and concerns of the Senior Community, at the Hudson County Freeholders Chambers, 567 Pavonia Ave, Tuesday September 20, 11 am. End of Summer Party Meeting is Wednesday, September 21. The yearly dues of $5.00 will be collected. The meeting begins after the 12:30 pm Mass. Also, $65 is due from those going to the Bethwood in October. Please note the change of the meetings from Thursday to Wednesday. WEEKLY OFFERING Thank you so very much for your financial support and for living your financial commitment to your parish. Your support helps us to achieve our weekly collection goal of $6,000 per Sunday. 528 people attended Mass last weekend. The collection came to $7,938 (of that amount, $2,119 came from parishioners making their contributions electronically through Parish Pay). This amount is $1,938 ABOVE our weekly goal of $6,000 per Sunday. You can also support your parish responsibly when you are unable to attend church by using Parish Pay. With Parish Pay your contributions are made automatically for you. It is easy to sign up; simply go to our website ( and follow the prompts. Parish Pay will charge your credit card or checking account once a month for your donation. To determine your monthly donation, determine what you wish to give OLC for the year. If you wish to tithe, multiply your yearly income by 2% or 3% and divide by 12. FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTIONS Beginning in October, we will be introducing First Friday Devotions. The date is Friday, October 7. The time is 7:00 pm. These devotions will be about an hour. They will afford you a perfect opportunity for prayerful reflection and peaceful sustenance. FOOD PANTRY On the first weekend of each month, we ask that you please help those in your own community who live below the poverty level and are in need of assistance. At OLC we support the community food pantry at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. You can help feed the hungry by donating non-perishable food items. Simply leave your donations at the rear of the church when you come on Sunday. Besides food donations, you can also place a monetary donation in the box on the table in the rear of the church. P.S. We collect food ONLY. Please, do not leave clothing. We will only put the clothing out with the trash. If you wish to donate clothing, please bring it to the Salvation Army on 14 th St. TENNIS PLAYERS? Are you a tennis player? Do you know someone who plays tennis? If so, what do you do with your old and used tennis balls? How about recycling them! The OLC School is collecting old and used tennis balls. The school can use them. Simply bring them to church and leave them in the appropriate container at the entrance of the church. Thank you.

4 MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK Saturday September 17, :00 pm Edward Brajczewski From Ted & Terri Gradowski Sunday September 18, :00 am Dr. Brian Rydwin from Friend 12:30 pm Edward Brajczewski from Rydwin Family 7:00 pm People of the Parish Monday September 19, :30 pm Antonio P. Sandoval From Lourdes Santa Rosa Tuesday September 20, :30 pm In Memory of George Koch from Mom & Eddie Wednesday September 21, :30 pm Sylvia Fontanilla from Balagot Family Thursday September 22, :30 pm Communion Service from Parish Friday September 23, :30 pm Agnes Liszkiewicz & Family From Amelia Goscienski Saturday September 24, :00 pm Frances & Bruno Ruskowski From Bruno Ruskowski Sunday September 25, :00 am John Tuzinkiewicz from Carol, daughter 12:30 pm Angel Yañez from Kirby & Henwood Families 7:00 pm People of the Parish The Sanctuary Lamp will burn this week in Memory of John Tuzinkiewicz offered by Carol, daughter Attend Daily Mass. It will make a difference in your life! STEWARDSHIP "'You too go into my vineyard.'" - Matthew 20:4 In today's Gospel we see how much Our Lord wants us to be co-workers with Him. Just as the Master went out repeatedly to invite more workers into his vineyard, so Our Lord continually calls us to participate more fully in the Church. Life on earth is short. How many times does God have to call us, before it is too late? Even the workers who entered the vineyard late were paid well. Do we want to be left standing alone in the marketplace for all eternity because we failed to fulfill our jobs as Christian stewards?

5 PARISH REGISTRATION Are you attending Mass at OLC? If you like coming here and enjoy the services, take the time to register in the parish. Make your membership official. This way you can call OLC your home. This is important because you need to be a registered member of the parish if you are asked to be a sponsor for Baptism or Confirmation. Don t wait until the last minute to register. Do so today! You can call, stop into the rectory, attend This is OLC, or request a registration form after Mass. It s easier than you think. PARENTS SUPPORT GROUP The Office of Family Life Ministries sponsors two support groups for Parents Grieving the Death of a Child. Groups meet year round on the first Wednesday of each month at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Center, 60 Byrd Avenue, Bloomfield, and on the third Monday of each month at St. Peter the Apostle Parish Center, 445 Fifth Avenue, River Edge. There is no preregistration and there is no fee. All meetings begin 7:30 PM. For more information, contact the Office of Family Life, , mccormja@rcan.org. FAMILY DAY, 2011 Families, non-profit organizations, elected officials, Major League Baseball teams and corporations across the country are gearing up to celebrate Family Day A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children on Monday, September 26, Family Day is the national movement that reminds parents that Dinner Makes A Difference! The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University launched Family Day in 2001 after its research consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. Those kids are also likelier to get better grades in school and have an excellent relationship with their parents. You are encouraged to celebrate Family Day this year! MEDICARE/PART D PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN Do you have questions about Medicare or the Part D Prescription Drug Plan? If so, the New Jersey State Health Insurance Association Program (SHIP) provides FREE help to New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries who need assistance with their health insurance. Counselors are available to give free, objective, confidential help. For information, call GOLDEN NEIGHBORHOODS HOME OWNERSHIP PROGRAM The Jersey City Division of Community Development is opening its Golden Neighborhoods Homeownership Program, which will provide increased opportunities for affordable home ownership in Jersey City. Application forms are now available between 9:30 am and 4:00 pm at the J.C. Division of Community Development, 30 Montgomery St, Room 404 ( or ); or online: For complete information, call or visit the website.